Six-legged ‘mermaid’ dog Ariel finds new home by the sea in Wales

“Pippin was a lovely boy who was swimming in the sea and climbing rocks right up until the day before he died suddenly,” said Ollie, 40, who runs the Pembrokeshire-based Blue Horizons Surf Club alongside his partner.

“We were so heartbroken we felt like we’d never get another dog, but the hole he left in our lives was so huge we realised we had to try to fill it somehow.

“So we applied to Greenacres to see if they had any dogs up for adoption, not long after which a volunteer rang saying she thought she had the perfect candidate for us.”

At that point he and Emma-Mary, 50, had no idea who Ariel was.

“She was brought to ours for a home visit and took to the place straight away, really made herself comfortable,” he said.

“Neither of us were at all aware we had a celebrity in our midst.”